Tesla’s self-driving system was on at time of fatal Florida crash

By Jorge Milian jmilian@pbpost.com

Friday

May 17, 2019 at 5:13 PMMay 17, 2019 at 5:13 PM

A Palm Beach County, Fla., man activated the self-driving system on his 2018 Tesla seconds before the vehicle slammed into a tractor-trailer in suburban Delray Beach, according to federal investigators.

Jeremy Beren Banner, 50, from the Wellington area, died at the scene of the March 1 crash.

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board said that neither the vehicle’s autopilot feature nor Banner attempted to brake the Tesla 3 or make an evasive maneuver before it traveled underneath the truck while traveling 68 mph in the 14000 block of State Road 7, north of Atlantic Avenue. The crash sheared off the Tesla’s roof.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said the truck had pulled out of Pero Farms and was making a left-hand turn onto northbound State Road 7 when the Tesla, headed southbound, smashed into the undercarriage of the tractor-trailer. The posted speed in the area is 55 mph.

The NTSB report states that Banner took his hands off the steering wheel eight seconds before the crash, but the self-driving system did not detect it.

The autopilot system has been criticized for its reliability. The Delray crash is similar to one that took place in 2016 near Gainesville in which a Tesla driver died after the vehicle struck a tractor-trailer. The system has also played a role in three other fatal crashes since 2016, according to reports.

Tesla released a statement saying the company was “deeply saddened” by the Delray Beach crash, but added that, “Tesla drivers have logged more than one billion miles with autopilot engaged, and our data shows that, when used properly by an attentive driver who is prepared to take control at all times, drivers supported by autopilot are safer than those operating without assistance.

Richard Keith Wood, 45, of the Tampa suburb of Ruskin was driving the truck and was not injured.

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